NAT'L GUARD: PTSD & TBI SCREENING S.B. 731 (S-2):
FLOOR SUMMARY
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Senate Bill 731 (Substitute S-2 as reported) (as enacted)
Sponsor: Senator Jason E. Allen
Committee: Senior Citizens and Veterans Affairs
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Michigan Military Act to do all of the following:
-- Require National Guard members to take a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) questionnaire and a traumatic brain injury (TBI) questionnaire administered by the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) before and after an overseas deployment.
-- Exempt from the PTSD and TBI questionnaire requirements personnel who had completed similar Federal questionnaires.
-- Allow active and discharged military personnel living in Michigan who had served in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom to take the questionnaires free of charge.
-- Require the DMVA to develop the PTSD and TBI questionnaires with the assistance of other organizations and State and Federal agencies.
-- Require Federal approval of the questionnaires.
-- Require the DMVA to store the questionnaires electronically.
Proposed MCL 32.736 Legislative Analyst: Patrick Affholter
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have an indeterminate, but likely minimal fiscal impact on the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. The occasions in which the Department would be required to administer a questionnaire under the bill-in the event that the U.S. Department of Defense failed to do so-would likely be rare. However, to the extent that the DMVA would be required to spend time working with others in creating the questionnaires and archiving the documents, some Department-incurred costs would result, at a level that cannot be determined at this time.
Date Completed: 12-7-07 Fiscal Analyst: Bruce Baker
Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. sb731/0708